A 20 year old man has been charged in what appears to be the first case prosecuting New South Wales’ new “revenge porn” offences, however the charges have arguably been misapplied, potentially minimising what may amount to more serious conduct.

The NSW Parliament is in the process of legislating to criminalise the non-consensual sharing of intimate images. The new offences follow in the footsteps of, but goes further than, similar laws in South Australia and Victoria – which are both limited to distribution and do not provide the same level of detail with regard to important definitional issues, such as what constitutes consent.